Stefano Pilati (born December 10, 1965, in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er. In 2017 he founded Random Identities, a

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

brand. From 2004 until 2012, Pilati was the head designer of Yves Saint Laurent. In late 2012 he left YSL to be head of design at Ermenegildo Zegna, where he was responsible for the Italian house's couture collections until February 2016. In tandem with that position, he also headed Zegna's Agnona brand (women's apparel) until July 2015.

Early life

Pilati grew up in Milan.

Career

Having seen his hometown grow into a fashion hotspot in the 1980s, Pilati gave up his course in

environmental design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...

and joined the fashion house Cerruti as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

. He thus decided to embrace Milan's fashion scene and set out to learn everything there was to know about

apparel materials and production. A

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

manufacturer offered him his first job. A few months later, Pilati was designing that company's entire collection, and presenting it to Europe's leading ready-to-wear names. The fashion house

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

hired Pilati as an assistant in its men's

department in 1993. The fashion house

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

employed him to run its

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

research and development in 1995. In 1998 Prada promoted him to assistant designer at

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Milan, Italy. Silvia Onofri is its CEO. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 ...

, working on men's and women's ready-to-wear clothing and reporting directly to Miuccia Prada.

Yves Saint Laurent, 2000–2012

In 2000, Pilati joined fashion house Yves Saint Laurent to run its

and accessories design for both men's and women's; in 2004 Pilati succeeded

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

in his role of Creative Director. During his tenure as head designer, Pilati was responsible for creating fashion staples such as the tulip skirt, as well as extremely successful accessories such as the Muse bag, and the YSL Tribute sandal. After eight years Pilati and the Kering Group parted ways and he left YSL in 2012. While at YSL, Pilati re-introduced booking former top Models for YSL’s ad-campaigns and worked with iconic photographers such as Juergen Teller and Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. He also created a democratic form of street advertising publishing limited edition Manifesto(s). In addition to his work at YSL, he created costumes for the production of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's play ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Of ...

'', which opened in June 2011 at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in London.

Zegna, 2012–2016

In late 2012, Pilati signed on at Ermenegildo Zegna, becoming the head of design at Ermenegildo Zegna and

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

of Agnona,LUISA ZARGAN
Stefano Pilati Exits Agnona, Remains at Zegna
''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...

'' July 10, 2015 overseeing Zegna's

fashion show A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is wh ...

and the couture collection. Zegna created a new label for him, Ermenegildo Zegna Couture. Pilati held his first Zegna Couture show during the Milan menswear collection in June 2013. In the following years, his catwalk collections were critically lauded but barely produced. In 2015, he left Agnona. By February 2016, he also stepped down from his role at Zegna.

Random Identities, 2017–present

In 2017, using his personal

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account, Pilati uploaded 17 looks from a new, self-started brand called Random Identities.Matthew Schneier (June 26, 2017)
A Surprise Collection, From Stefano Pilati, Revealed on Instagram
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In fall 2020, Fatima Jamal became the first black

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...

model to model for a major menswear house in the Random Identities show in Florence. Since then, Stefano Pilati works as Creative Director of his own brand, based between Berlin and Milan. In 2023, Pilati was selected by Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi to design a collection for

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

. In September 2024, Pilati began working with Zara on a capsule collection. The collaboration, which includes around 50 men's and 30 women's designs, as well as shoes and bags, was launched in October 2024. The collection was be accompanied by a photo campaign shot by photographer

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in '' Vogue'' and '' Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, '' Sex''. He is ...

Personal life

Pilati moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with his partner in 2013.Louise Neri (October 13, 2013)
Designer Stefano Pilati Discusses the Future of Menswear
''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilati, Stefano 1965 births 20th-century Italian people 21st-century Italian people Living people Architects from Milan Yves Saint Laurent (brand)